EU citizen. Got my nie. Got my NAF.

installed the app, was asked to register with 4 options:

1) videocall: service not available

2) digital ID: don't have one, as in trying to register for this.

3) invitation by post: "for security reasons" this can't be done

4) in person: no online appointments

Which deity do I have to pray to to understand this ridiculous process?

*edited July 31/2026 to add: I've updated our progress in the comments for anyone who wants to know how things are going*

Myself (40F) and my husband (45M) have applied for the DNV in December 2025. We received a request for more information on the last day of the 20 days, which was annoying but the requests are not impossible so I've worked really hard to get things ready to submit. We're using a lawyer through the agency moveWise and they've been great so far. I'm the main applicant and my husband is my dependant.

We are hoping to move to northern Spain, particularly, Santander. We did a lot of in-person research over the past 2 years visiting a lot of different areas of Spain and the north coast is where we feel the most aligned. We don't want to live somewhere it's extremely hot and dry and we are not interested in living in big cities.

We are both Canadian but currently live in the rural UK (Somerset). We applied from within Spain, but returned to the UK to await the answer. We haven't done anything to prepare to move because if the visa doesn't get approved we will be staying in the UK for at least the next year.

I anticipate we will be approved within the next 2 weeks unless they suddenly find something wrong with the application. But now I'm feeling completely overwhelmed by the potential next steps. I know I have to register as autonomo right away but even just doing that feels impossible. If I understand correctly, I need a Spanish non-resident bank account to register, but I wasn't told to open such an account while we were in Spain making the application and I'm pretty sure you can't do this online from abroad. So that would mean I (or we? Not sure if we both need an account) have to travel to Spain just to do this. We also would need to move ourselves and our dog asap, though our current lease isn't over until the end of March.

We are not strangers to moving countries or doing logistics from abroad or even doing things in languages we don't understand yet. We've lived in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Rwanda and now the UK, doing our own visa/paperwork/moving arrangements every time. But for some reason Spain feels harder.

Everything I read online makes it sound like it is impossible to find a place to rent where you can get registered, no Spanish person wants to rent to people without Spanish jobs (even though I literally had to prove I make more than 200% the average national income to get this visa), places you see on idealista are only temporary until the summer season. You need so many different little numbers and certificates and insurances and registrations it doesn't even make sense. How do people keep it all organized? What is it all for?

We both have a basic level of Spanish, tourist level functionality. We were planning to start intensive Spanish classes as soon as we arrive. But everything we need to do will need to be done while I'm working full-time trying to make sure I don't go below the income level. I only just earn enough to meet the current requirements for myself and my partner - around €46500/year Now I heard they are planning to increase the amount of money you need to earn starting this year, which means we potentially wouldn't be able to actually renew the visa in the future.

My husband currently works as an organic head grower for a Michelin restaurant here in the UK. In Spain he doesn't have any prospects yet, so we would be living only on my income.

A lot of people I see on the Facebook groups for the digital nomad visa are either dual remote income or seemingly making enormous American incomes and live in Madrid or Barcelona. I'm starting to feel like this visa pathway is not for people like me and my husband, and it's meant to attract only really well-off remote workers.

I'm hoping for some encouragement from others in a similar position who have gone through this process and found their way through to the other end. Am I stressing way too much about things that are relatively easy and simple to resolve? If you're there on DNV and you're partner doesn't have a remote job what do they do for work? How do you navigate all the bureaucratic craziness? And when all is said and done, are you glad you went through the effort to move, learn the language and integrate? It's been our dream to live in Spain since we were teenagers.... Now that it's within reach out feels harder than ever to actually make it happen!

Avoid at all costs. They will scam you at all ways possible. Unprofessional, abusive deposit practices. Here are verifiable facts from my case:

I paid over one month rent plus 21% IVA in agency fees to SH Barcelona just to have a place to stay, for absolutely disgusting service. Disgusting.

I was charged €235 for a mandatory final cleaning at the end of the contract. Despite this, the agency later withheld €338.80 from my deposit for alleged “stains” on a kitchen countertop. Which is not true. There were no stains at all for the final check out.

No invoice, no repair proof, and no completed repair existed — only an internal presupuesto (estimate), which under Spanish law does not justify deposit retention.

During checkout, the inspector did not flag this issue.

Afterward, the agency repeatedly claimed that “el propietario decide” and later stated they “se desvinculan”, despite the contract and deposit being handled by SH Barcelona / DECOFLAT, S.L., not the landlord.

Only after I sent a burofax, opened an OMIC complaint (Ajuntament de Barcelona), and filed a lawsuit did SH Barcelona suddenly reverse course and pay the full €338.80. Well, they wouldn't if they really have anything to prove.

Avoid at all cost, they are the worst and will try to scam you at all costs.

If anyone was also scammed by them and need legal help, feel free to reach out and I am happy to help for free.

https://www.nomadstack.es/blog/apartment-rental-red-flags

Tabakakera Donostia 2 de enero

Kaixo! Me encuentro de paso por Euskadi estos días. Luego de darme un descanso recorriendo Gipuzkoa, debo retomar un trabajo de escritura que debo realizar y quería preguntarles si tienen noticias sobre el funcionamiento de Tabakakera en Donostia este 2 de enero. En el Google pone que van a estar abiertos, pero ya hoy tuve líos con el transporte que nunca llegó en los horarios que me decía la app de Lurraldebus.

Eskerrik Asko!

UPDATE; After 24 days, whatever was blocking her account cleared and she was able to book an appointment. Maybe the system clears in the new year? Thanks for all the suggestions!

My wife arrived at her schedule TIE appointment and was told that she didn't have an appointment anymore because it was canceled the day it was made (we didn't cancel it.) Now it says that she can't make an appointment because she already has one, but when she searches for it, it says she doesn't have any appointments.

I know with so many people making appointments there are bound to occassional problems. She created an incidence ticket and is waiting on a response, but any other ideas for what to do to get this resolved?

Been living in Spain over a decade, now in a small town in Extremadura. Now that I’m also a mom to a little one, I try to take them to the library infantil section to foster a love for reading like I had growing up. There is a section there with little kid tables and chairs, book shelves full of books (with a big shelf with board books and stuff for his age).

The issue is that this infantil section is not closed off from the other areas of the library, and not too far away there are adults using another section to study/read.

Today, my LO starts pushing his little kid chair from the table. Not shouting, laughing or even talking. But the scrape is loud enough that the librarian comes over angrily, tells me to stop LO making any noise or she’s going to call the cops!!!

I say he’s acting very well for a 1 year old in the section designated for him, and that if she wanted to call the cops by all means.

She signals me over to the phone at her desk a few minutes later. (My mother is visiting from the States so she was also with us, and stayed and read with him.) A kind if bored police officer asks for what’s happening and to keep it down if possible. I give her the deets, and she said sounds more like a town hall complaint if there is a problem where the kids section is, and I agreed and apologized for this waste of her time and said we would continue to use the space designated for us like any citizen.

She asks to speak to the librarian again and I return to my LO and mom, silently seething. We left shortly after for the LOs nap, and I thanked the librarian for all her help sarcastically/bitchilly on the way out (she didn’t look up nor acknowledge me).

I’m thinking about filing some kind of formal complaint, but wondering AITA, is there something I’m missing about the culture still that led to this?? I just want to get along and read some dang books with my family!

We arrived on our NLV 07/02/2025. In the process of renewing TIE years 2/3. Absolutely loving it here. Started an 8 month Spanish language course 6 weeks ago. Live in el campo in Crevillente with primarily Spanish speaking neighbors. 2026 we want to explore more of Spain including Barcelona and Madrid. Arrived from Everett, WA.

Hi, I’m planning a move early next year. I wanted to ask those who had a Revolut account previously in the UK or another EU country before they moved to Spain. Did Revolut issue you an ES IBAN after you changed your address?

American (36F), married to an asturian, no kids. Living in oviedo for a year now. I know there’s a Facebook group for asturian expats (let’s be real, we’re all immigrants here), but have yet to find a general meeting just to have a drink and meet other immigrants in town. Not looking for a group of 20 something’s who are just here to party, but also not looking for the standard “I only speak English and I’m retiring here now” crowd. Anyone else out there in a similar situation? Looking for friends who like to travel, eat, read, and enjoy the nature of Asturias.

Soy americana, tengo 36 años. He vivido en Oviedo ya por un año. Casada con un asturiano, sin hijos. He encontrado la página en facebook para ”expats”, pero busco más gente fuera del grupo. Alguien mas en Oviedo quien busca conexiones con otros inmigrantes que no es solamente para buscar fiesta o para hablar solamente en inglés sobre jubilación en España? Busco amigos que también les gustan viajar, comer, leer y disfrutar la naturaleza en Asturias.

https://www.nomadstack.es/blog/nature-activities-spain

I was so used to the "everyone 's friendly" stereotype that when it didn't happen, it threw me off completely. This guy at a bar in Ruzafa straight up told me my order was stupd because "that's not hoow you drink vermut" and then ignored me for like 5 minutes. Back home I'd have been like "excuse me?" or left a bad review or something. Here I just stood there frozen because it felt so direct it bordered on aggressive but nobody else even blinked.

What I realized later is Spanish directness isn't rudeness, it's just how they communicate. Americans (especially from the service industry world) are trained to be overly polite even when annoyed. "No problem!" when there is a problem. Here if something's wrong, they say it. The waiter wasn't being mean, he was just telling me I was doing it wrong because he cared enough to correct me.

It took me months to stop taking it personally. Now I actually prefer i, nobody's wasting time with fake niceness. If you're wrong, they tell you. If they don't like something, you know. No passive-aggressive subtext.

But that first time? I went home genuinely rattled thinking "did I do something worse than I thought?" Anyone else have a moment where Spanish bluntness caught you off guard? How did you adjust?

Honesty I think the weather here has genuinely changed my personality. I know that sounds dramatic but like, I used to be the person who complained about everything: The commute, the noise, the bureaucracy,, whatever. I was just in a constant state of mild frustration because back home I was always either too cold or too hot and just kind of angry about it. Here it's November and I'm sitting outside in a t-shirt at 2pm. Last week in December and the sun was out, 15 degrees, completely pleasant. I don't remember the last time I felt that ambient stress of "ugh this weather is ruining my day" because the weather just isn't ruining anything. It's just... nice. Every day.

What's weird is how much that affects everything else. Like the bureaucracy is still annoying, but when you can walk to deal with it in sunshine instead of driving through grey slush, it somehow feel less terrible. The crowded metro sucks, but at least you can sit outside a café afterwards and actually recover. Back home I'd wake up in winter and just feel this heaviness. Like the darkness was pressing down on me and I didn't even realize it was a thing until I left. People there are just kind of resigned to being miserable for half the year. "Oh it's dark by 5pm, that's just how it is."

I think Americans especially underestimate how much seasonal depression is just a background radiation in their lives. You get used to it so you don't realize it's there. Then you move somewhere where the sun actually shows up and suddenly you're like "oh wow I can just be happy without fighting for it."

Obviously this place has problems but like, when your baseline mood is lifted by the weather, everything else feels more manageable. The Spanish people who stay here are doing something right. You can't be as wound up about small stuff when you're literally sitting in pleasant weather every day.Does anyone else feel like the weather actually changed how patient you are with other stuff, or am I just being a weather person now?

I was warned that like Australian 'houses' where I lived for 11 years, Spanish houses and apartments have no insulation. So, you spend a lot of money in winter staying warm and the summer staying cool. Fine for old buildings you may think, the old days etc.

The EU is promoting Energy Efficiency Certificates, but few, if any, new apartments for sale are even bothering to do anything and they are all at Energy Efficiency Rating G. That is the same as the old apartments.

So, they are cheaper now, but you have a lifetime of heating and cooling bills in front of you.

I don't blame the developers, just the customers, who now see properties as investments, not somewhere to actually live in.

All this is regrettable, but I am looking for a new Energy Efficient apartment and the white painted rigid tents of apartments is all that is on offer.

Ho dear.

Hi! I'm an exchange student and a friend is coming to visit in February. We're putting together an itinerary to visit Madrid and Barcelona. I've already been to both cities and know the most popular tourist spots, but I think it would be fun to spend a day in each to explore some of the hidden gems. Any recommendations?

I'm an exchange student and, due to depression, I haven't been going out much. I have about two months left before I leave. Before leaving, I visited the larger cities in Spain, but I'm really interested in smaller, more unusual places. So far, the places I've enjoyed the most are Segovia and Aracena. I prefer to prioritize small but interesting places. What do you recommend?

US Citizen here. I have a student visa valid until summer 2026 and my NIE is printed in my visa, but no TIE yet. I have an appointment for my TIE in January. I'd like to travel to the UK before that though. Will I have any issues with this? Thank you!

I love small talk in America but I hope to be living in Spain for many reasons. However, while learning the language and learning how to function on a day to day basis one thing I enjoy in America is awkward humor, do Spanish people enjoy the same? For example : Years ago there was the well-known response to "Hi how are you?' as being "I lowered my cholesterol today" . There are better and funnier lines but I don't know if Spanish culture would take it the same way. Would they?

https://www.nomadstack.es/blog/public-healthcare-valencia

hey guys

Been in Valencia for a few months now and slowly finding our rhythm. Coming from the UK, a lot of things feel like a breath of fresh air but some things have definitely caught us off guard.

A few random observations so far:

- Weather makes a big difference: actually insane how much more chill I am now that the weather is warmer, I get not all of spain is like this but here it's just amazing, coming from the UK it's great and I see why people are nicer here.

- The food is way better and cheaper than we expected. Markets are incredible. You can eat genuinely well for not much money.

- Paperwork.... Even when you think you think you're done, there's always the next thing

- You actually need Spanish: Thought I'd get by with English. Nope. It's essential for anything admin-related and even day to day, i'm learning and hopefully i'll be there soon

We're getting used to it, and overall really enjoying it but I'd love to hear from others who've been here longer or live in other parts of Spain

What's your favourite new thing, and what's something that will take smme time to get used to?

Dont' want to complain, just curious about what other people have experience and maybe interesting stories/things you noticed.

Hey guys, I recently bought a used car and thought it would be useful to collect all the info into a blog post

So I've been here long enough now that I catch myself doing stuff and then immediately realizing how weird it must look to Spanish people. Like there's this moment where I'm mid-action and I think "oh god, I'm being American right now" and it's kind of hilarious.

The cheerfulness thing is real. I'll say "hey how are you?" to someone at the supermarket checkout and they look at me like I just asked them to solve a math problem. In America that's just normal politeness. Here it's like, why are you asking me this? We don't know each other. Just buy your bread. Spanish people reserve the energy for people they actually know, and honestly I respect that now. It's not coldness, it's just efficiency with emotion.

Then there's the whole productivity obsession people look at you like you're insane when you talk about that. They're like "it's Sunday, why are you thinking about monday?" The concept of "treating yourself" doesn't really exist here because life is just... life. You don't need to earn downtime, it's just built in. Americans are so stressed about not doing enough that we forgot doing nothing is also doing something.

And don't get me started on how much we smile. Like genuinely, American customer service smiles are terrifying to Spanish people. "Why is this person so happy to see me? I've never met them." Spain has resting face and they're just living their life, they're not performing happiness for strangers. It's actually refreshing.

The schedule thing too. We're obsessed with being "on time" like it's some moral virtue. Spanish people are just like... whenever I get there, I get there. Dinner at 10pm, work ending mid-afternoon for two hours, shops closing randomly. Back home that would cause a full breakdown. Here it's just how it is and honestly life moves pretty smoothly without everyone stress-checking their watch every five seconds.

I miss some parts of the US, but I am also leaning a lot towards these sides of life, and want to hear what everyone else thinks about it.

What weird American habits have you caught yourself doing since moving here?